


(Lost in the Woods) Together With You

by Fangirlthatwrites



Series: Camp Bughead (Buggie Break) [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Lost in the Woods, Love, Summer Love, True Love, collection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-01 03:28:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15134078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fangirlthatwrites/pseuds/Fangirlthatwrites
Summary: To celebrate surviving the beginning of Summer, Archie, Veronica, Betty, and Jughead decide to go camping. Everything seems to go according to plan until Betty and Jughead get separated from Archie and Veronica. Can they make it through the night with only half of the supplies.





	(Lost in the Woods) Together With You

"Jughead... Archie... are we there yet," Veronica’s voice whines like a child from the backseat of Archie's rusty car. They just got out of school a week earlier and to celebrate, they decided to take a camping trip outside of Riverdale.  
  
They have been in the car for two hours now and everyone is starting to get a little restless. Veronica should be used to long car rides due to her move from The Big Apple to Riverdale, which had to have taken her almost -if not a whole- day; but it comes as no surprise that she's the one to complain about the lengthy trip.

In fact, Jughead predicted as much before the trip began. Betty had playfully swatted at Jughead in protest when he had voiced his hypothesis. Veronica had glared at him with her fierce chocolate brown eyes that could send chills through anyone. That wasn't the case for Jughead though, as he just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, like it was no big deal.

Jughead sighs in annoyance. If he hears anything that even resembles a whine coming from Veronica's lips one more time, he swears he’ll grab the bin carrying all the food and jump out of the car. He wishes he could sleep like Betty, snuggling up to the side of the car with her face against the window. He smiles to himself at the sight. It doesn't matter what she's doing, somehow Betty Cooper makes everything look adorable.

“Don’t worry, we're almost there,” Archie's peppy voice explains, breaking Jughead’s concentration. He turns his body around to face the endless road ahead.

Sure enough, a few minutes later a large forest appears in the distance with a large sign announcing the camping ground. “Finally, I was losing my mind cramped in this tiny car.” Veronica mutters as Archie parks the car in the parking lot. She rushes out of the car and takes a deep breath of fresh air.

Archie twists his keys out of the ignition and hops out to meet up with Veronica. Jughead glances back at the seat behind him; Betty was still soundlessly asleep just like she had been the last time he checked.  He doesn’t want to disturb her slumber, but someone has to. He opens the car door and slips out before opening her door. “Betty.” He whispers lowering himself to her ear. “It’s time to wake up,” He places a gentle kiss on her forehead which, in turn, startles her awake.

Her sleep filled eyes flutter open before landing on Jughead’s face. It takes a few more light blinks to fully bring her out of her haze. “Jug,” She mutters, pulling herself into a sitting position, “what are you doing?” Betty rubs her eyes before glancing back at Jughead.

His lips pull upward into a smirk. “I was waking you up,” His blue eyes sparkle in the sunlight. “We have arrived at this possible death sentence, and I’m here to escort you to what might be a trap,” He gives her a tiny smile before helping her out of the car.

“We are not going to die, Jughead.” Archie calls out, clearly annoyed at Jughead’s joke as he grabs the luggage from the trunk.

“I call carrying the food!” Jughead shouts running to the trunk completely ignoring Archie’s commentary. Betty smiles at Jughead in adoration. Of course he would demand to carry the food. She hopes that they brought enough food, she knows that he could eat it all in one sitting.

Veronica shifts uncomfortably and swats her skin. “Guys, can we go now? The mosquitos are starting to bite.” She frowns staring at the tiny red bump that it had left. Betty bites her lip to stop herself from pointing out that the mosquito situation will just get worse in the woods.

Jughead wraps his arms around the cooler and lifts it up. “Well if you hadn’t put on so much perfume, you wouldn’t have such a big problem.” He proclaims as he moves away from the car. This earns him a glare from Veronica.

“I think her perfume smells nice.” Archie says completely missing the point. It only takes another minute to take everything out of the trunk. Betty takes the tent, and it turns out that the only person who isn’t carrying anything is Veronica.

“Everything is out, now can we please get moving?” Veronica begs urging everybody to move faster. Jughead lets out a sigh, he doesn’t know how he can survive a weekend of camping if Veronica is going to bark orders the whole time. _Must be nice not having to do anything,_ he thinks as they start heading out. The things he puts up with, but only for Betty. He knows what Veronica means to Betty, so for her, he’ll endure the pain.

They follow the dirt path that runs through the lush forest. The heels of Veronica’s stilettos dig into the dirt almost causing her to fall. “What on Earth made you think wearing heels on a camping trip was a good idea?” Jughead huffs at her in frustration at her impracticality. Despite being rich and taught at the most prestige schools back in New York, she sure isn’t that bright.

“I thought we were going to a lodge like civilised people. Not roughing it in the woods like some plebeians.” She scoffs defending herself. Back in New York, no one in their right minds would be camping in the middle of the forest where bears could easily eat them.

Jughead laughs sarcastically, “We bought a tent! What did you think that was for?”  It frustrates him how ignorant she can be at times. Obviously everything they brought has a purpose. Although knowing Veronica, she probably brought a lot of useless items.

“It could have been for decoration.” Veronica shoots back, but Jughead isn’t having any of it. Buying a tent for decoration was too much, even for the rich. He’s about to respond when Betty speaks up.

“Both of you, stop. I love you both, but this fight is stupid and unnecessary.” This takes Jughead by surprise, but regardless he smiles at her and they continue down the path.

The sight is astonishing. The trees reach toward the sky, some seem tall enough that if one were to climb to the very top they cloud touch the clouds above. Others are trees they didn’t even know existed. The sun pokes through the branches, giving the environment an ethereal glow that freckles their faces in golden specks. The sun begins to set, giving the sky a mix of orange and yellow. The dark green leaves on the trees contrast the light colors of the sky.

“Wow,” Betty gapes in awe. She’s never seen anything that compares to this. It's a view found in magazines and picture museums; yet here she is witnessing it all for herself.

“I should have brought my camera… ” Jughead mutters under his breath as he takes in the view. His photography hobby isn't something many people know about him. When Betty had first found out, she was taken aback. She had prided herself for knowing Jughead well, they had grown up together, but she still was learning new things about him.

While the scenery seems to touch both Betty and Jughead, Archie and Veronica don't seem to have the same level of emotional attachment as they march forward. Just as Betty and Jughead begin to walk forward again, a loud snap comes from the side of the woods scaring Veronica. “Help! It's a bear! Protect me Archiekins!” She wails clinging to Archie as if he were going to protect her, even with his hands full of her luggage.

Just as Archie is about to throw down Veronica's luggage, a chubby squirrel appears from behind a tree and dashes off with an acorn.

Betty bursts out laughing, her face scrunches up with amusement at her friend’s actions.

Jughead smiles and takes her face into his hands. “Has anyone ever told you how adorable you are when you laugh? Or smile? Or just exist?” Betty shakes her head a little while blushing profusely in response before he closes the space in between them; his lips connecting with hers.

Archie and Veronica share a look. “Maybe we should leave these two lovebirds alone and find a place to set up camp,” Veronica suggests and Archie nods his head in agreement.

By the time Betty and Jughead break apart, Archie and Veronica are gone. “What? Where did they go?” Betty whispers turning around to look behind her. “But… but they were right over there before…” She lets out a soft whimper.

Jughead takes her hand in his and squeezes it in comfort. “Don’t worry, we'll find them.” His reassuring smile calms her nerves as they walk searching for their friends.

By the time the sun is finished setting and the once gold lit sky turns into soft black they still haven't found any trace of them. Jughead’s stomach growls in protest of not being fed since they got out of the car. “Betts, I think it's time to find a spot and call it a night. We won't be able to find them in the dark, and certainly not on an empty stomach.”

Betty sighs knowing that he's right, but the thought of Archie and Veronica alone in the dark without a tent or food sends a chill down her. She doesn’t know if she can deal with the guilt. Jughead leads her into the forest as they search for a place to set down their things for the night.

They soon find a suitable spot and set down the items they have. “Go set up the tent while I get a fire going.” Betty instructs as she gathers up twigs for the fire. Jughead groans in protest complaining that he’s “too hungry to do any manual labor” but does as she asked anyways.

After a few minutes of trying to start a fire the way her Girl Scout leader had taught her all those years ago, she finally gets an ember. Slowly, Betty lifts the ember to a dry piece of bark. She carefully brings it down on the pile of sticks she had set up and gently blows on the tiny ember. The ember slowly starts to grow, and soon the flames overtake the pile of sticks. She glances over at Jughead to see him digging in the cooler stuffing his mouth full of food.

“Jughead, I thought you were going to set up the tent, not eat all the food we packed for the trip. Archie and Veronica will probably be starving by the time we find them tomorrow.” She pulls herself up from off the ground and marches up to him. The air around them is starting to drop as the sky darkens into a pitch black. Without the flashlight Veronica insist on having, there isn’t much they can see that the fire doesn’t light up for them. But the fire won’t last through the night, and when it inevitably diminishes, the light along with the heat will disappear along with it.

Jughead wipes his mouth on the sleeve of his jacket. “I need it more than they do. I’m sure Archie has something in his bag that he can eat and share with Veronica. Maybe a energy bar or something. That’ll sustain them.”

Betty examines the discarded tent lying on the ground with the steaks thrown over them. “What about the tent?”

Jughead follows her eyes and shrugs. “It was giving me a hard time so I decided it wasn’t worth my time. Not when I could be stuffing my face with food.” Sighing, Betty lifts up the tent and start assembling it as the directions specify. She digs the steaks into the ground which in turn hold the tent upright. After a few minutes of hard labor, the tent is finally standing and sturdy enough to use.

A chilly breeze flows through the camp area sending goosebumps to the surface of her skin. She had packed a cozy blanket in her suitcase just for this reason, but all of their luggage is with Archie, wherever he may be. She wraps her arms around herself in an attempt to warm herself up as she sits down by the glowing fire. This isn’t how she had expected the trip would go, she had pictured the four of them by the fireplace telling scary stories while toasting marshmallows. She pictured Jughead’s arms around her as they laid down in the tent, with herself falling asleep in is arms.

But of course it isn’t how she pictured, nothing ever is; nothing is ever perfect. Betty gets lost in her thoughts and isn’t aware of Jughead sitting next to her on the log. He studies her disappointed face and her eyes full of worry. He knows how hard this is on he. Her best friends are in the forest with who knows what creatures lurking in this shadows. But he also knows how worried she must be about them as well. He knows how her mind works, analyzing the outcomes of a situation and worrying about the unfavorable outcomes.

Without another thought, Jughead wraps his arms around Betty. She gives him a soft smile as she leans against him putting her head on his shoulder. “I love you Betty, and no matter what ends up happening, I will always protect you with my life. Plus Archie was a boy-scout, Veronica is perfectly safe.”

She moves her body a little so she can look at his face. “I know Juggie, I love you.” She wiggles out of his arms and climbs onto his lap. On impulse she pulls him into a searing kiss. He kisses her back with an equal level of passion. As the kiss begins to get more heated, Betty breaks away and whispers into his ear. “Let’s take this someplace more private.” Her voice laced with seduction.

“O- Okay,” Jughead answered with much anticipation slowly letting himself be pushed into the tent by Betty.

. . .

Betty slowly wakes up in Jughead’s arms the next morning. She glances over to where Jughead lays still asleep. With the night they had last night, that doesn’t surprise her. She gently bites her lip remembering everything that happened between them. The way she shouted his name like it was the only word she knew, the way his hands roamed her body like he owned it. Despite being lost in the potentially dangerous forest, she feels a strange sense of calmness when around him, especially last night.

Heat flush her cheeks as she remembers where they are. Archie and Veronica were somewhere in these exact forests and could have possibly have heard them. “What are you thinking about?” Jughead questions sleepily as he notices the rosy tint of her cheeks.

“Oh! You're awake.” She exclaims in surprise. He was clearly asleep the last time she had checked. “I wasn't thinking of anything, nothing at all.” She immediately shoots out as her cheeks redden even more.

He tilts his head and studies her face that conveys embarrassment but he was still extremely sleepy from their night to figure out what was the cause of her blush, so he shrugs and pulls her onto him and kisses her lips softly.

“Jug,” She mutters pulling away. “As much as I'd love for another round, we need to find Archie and Veronica.” Betty kisses Jughead’s cheek before she slides off of him and walks out of the tent.

Luckily the rain last night had put out the fire she had started. All that really needs to be done was unassembling the tent. While she starts to take the steaks out of the ground Jughead goes to the cooler and eats once again. “Save some food for the rest of us!” Betty calls as she gathers up the tent.

“No promises!” Jughead yells back before shoving something in his mouth. She rolls her eyes before folding the tent neatly putting it back in the bag it came with along with the steaks.

They soon head off back onto the path as they search for Veronica and Archie. The deeper they go down the path the more fallen logs block their path. Betty almost trips on multiple of them while Jughead laughs at her clumsiness. Multiple mosquitoes bite their legs leaving a red round wound.

“I'm hungry…: Jughead whines about thirty minutes in their search. Betty ignored him knowing he’ll probably eat something with or without her permission.  

“Veronica! Archie! Where are you?” She calls out hoping they will hear her calls and let them know their location.

He just scoffs at her actions. “They're not a dog, they won't come running up to you like your their owner.” But to his surprise, Archie and Veronica appear. “Huh, maybe they are.” He sighs walking over to them in no particular hurry.

Unlike Jughead, Betty runs to her friend and wraps her arms around them. “I'm so glad you guys are okay.” She tighten the hug before letting them go.

“Where the hell were you guys?” Veronica demands. “I had to sleep on the ground because you didn't show up with the tent. Plus I'm starving. Hand over the food Jughead.” She holds her hand out.

Jughead and Betty share a look. “I guess you can say we got lost in the forest.” She smiles shrugging her shoulders.


End file.
